You really want a Nexus on Verizon after the Verizon Galaxy Nexus fiasco?Verizon and bootloader unlocked, updated by the OEM phones don't go hand in hand together. Unless you're Apple.I doubt Google will make that same mistake, again.

You really want a Nexus on Verizon after the Verizon Galaxy Nexus fiasco?Verizon and bootloader unlocked, updated by the OEM phones don't go hand in hand together. Unless you're Apple.I doubt Google will make that same mistake, again.

The iPhone is by no stretch of the imagination 'boot loader unlocked', and won't let you tether or the like without being provisioned, so it sounds right up VZW's alley.

During the announcement, right before he mentioned the SGS4 will get a developer Google edition, the speaker (can't recall which one) mentioned both HTC One and SGS4. I think the rumors have a good reason to exist. Here's hoping to see the best smartphone be graced with full support for the best OS.

I would love for this to be true. I seriously considered switching from iOS phone + Android tablet to Android or WP phone + iOS tablet last year when my phone contract ended, but there were enough downsides to the Lumia 920 (WP8's dearth of apps), Nexus 4 (no LTE), and other Android phones (non-stock Android) that I ended up just replacing my iPhone 4 with an iPhone 5 without feeling terribly thrilled about it. Of the current Android phones, the HTC One is far and away my favorite, but the appeal of updates directly from Google is enough that the announcement of the GS4 Google Edition made me recommend that instead (at least to people who weren't buying on carrier subsidies).

An HTC One Google Edition might just make me sell my iPhone 5 even though I'd probably be out a couple hundred dollars.

All the phones that aren't Nexii need to do this, at least as an official option. If you want to ship it with your garbage, that's cool, but please just offer a stock Android ROM for those who are willing to deal with it.

Selling half as much as the Galaxy S4 may not be heaven, but doesn't seem too bad considering previous HTC's situation and the overall dominance of Samsung.

Going by the linked article, they're also limited by supply, not demand. HTC's difficulties with production have been well documented and they're considered a second-tier producer these days (by some accounts), so it's really quite impressive as they're absolutely killing estimates

While I love my Nexus 4 and won't be swapping for the next couple of years, I really hope this catches on. I feel this is a good step towards less fragmentation (although I don't think it's all that terrible currently). /fingerscrossed for more good things to come.

I wonder why they don't do a Google Edition+ that is stock plus just enough to make all their hardware work correctly (e.g. beats audio). Although in the case of the One it would be 1000 times better if that HTC logo was actually a multi-tasking button.

Holly suggests in his article that if a "plain" version of the HTC One were to launch, it would only make the company look bad—as if it were only trying to get in the game alongside the Galaxy S 4. He also notes that a stock version of the HTC One wouldn't be able to take advantage of things like Beats Audio or ImageSense, which are two major selling points for the handset.

This is very silly logic. There is a (large?) group of users that absolutely don't want the manufacturer specific software and features, never buy a phone based on these half-assed pack-ins, and just want a clean Android install that they can easily update. Nobody is going to accidentally stumble into buying an unsubsidised phone from Google's store, this is for a very specific market that has been underserved and will create a lot of goodwill. It's win-win.

Holly suggests in his article that if a "plain" version of the HTC One were to launch, it would only make the company look bad—as if it were only trying to get in the game alongside the Galaxy S 4. He also notes that a stock version of the HTC One wouldn't be able to take advantage of things like Beats Audio or ImageSense, which are two major selling points for the handset.

This is very silly logic. There is a (large?) group of users that absolutely don't want the manufacturer specific software and features, never buy a phone based on these half-assed pack-ins, and just want a clean Android install that they can easily update. Nobody is going to accidentally stumble into buying an unsubsidised phone from Google's store, this is for a very specific market that has been underserved and will create a lot of goodwill. It's win-win.

came here to post this.. I find it hard to believe that he's never heard of XDA or the Rom community.. obviously there is a market for this.. can't imagine it would take long to get Beats Audio or ImageSense on a "plain" version.. or HTC could even offer those add-ons to download at your discretion..

Want. Will buy if it appears. Love my current HTC One X, but not keen on Sense compared to the Nexus/Stock interface.

This "Google Edition" will be the exact same hardware you are using, there should be no reason to rebuy it. Best case senario is that you can flash the firmware of this phone to your own (if the phone considers it official firmware) and the worst case senario is that you will have to go to HTC's dev website and follow the step by step procedure for unlocking your device.

Add me to the chorus longing for a Verizon or similar CDMA/4G carrier version. I understand the reason, but you can't really expect the phone on two networks to sell as much that even terrible Cspire sells.

This is a wonderful step in the right direction. Now, if only manufactures would take one more cue from Google and offer models with no front logos or physical/capacitive buttons, ala Nexus (nexi?)... I'm looking at you HTC and Samsung!

This is a wonderful step in the right direction. Now, if only manufactures would take one more cue from Google and offer models with no front logos or physical/capacitive buttons, ala Nexus (nexi?)... I'm looking at you HTC and Samsung!

I would buy a clean, no logo/softkey HTC One in a heartbeat.

Absolutely... But worst case, I'd still prefer the One over the GS4, because the HTC lacks a menu button. I can live with capactive back and home, and perhaps even the clumsy double tap home for recents... But having a menu button kills the UX.

So if there really is a Google Edition of the HTC One, I'd be all over that...

Holly suggests in his article that if a "plain" version of the HTC One were to launch, it would only make the company look bad—as if it were only trying to get in the game alongside the Galaxy S 4. He also notes that a stock version of the HTC One wouldn't be able to take advantage of things like Beats Audio or ImageSense, which are two major selling points for the handset.

This is very silly logic. There is a (large?) group of users that absolutely don't want the manufacturer specific software and features, never buy a phone based on these half-assed pack-ins, and just want a clean Android install that they can easily update. Nobody is going to accidentally stumble into buying an unsubsidised phone from Google's store, this is for a very specific market that has been underserved and will create a lot of goodwill. It's win-win.

What's interesting is just how many flashable .zips there are floating around out there that enable Beats Audio on non-HTC phones. Like it would be so hard to create one for vanilla Android running on HTC hardware ...

Want. Will buy if it appears. Love my current HTC One X, but not keen on Sense compared to the Nexus/Stock interface.

This "Google Edition" will be the exact same hardware you are using, there should be no reason to rebuy it. Best case senario is that you can flash the firmware of this phone to your own (if the phone considers it official firmware) and the worst case senario is that you will have to go to HTC's dev website and follow the step by step procedure for unlocking your device.

Want. Will buy if it appears. Love my current HTC One X, but not keen on Sense compared to the Nexus/Stock interface.

This "Google Edition" will be the exact same hardware you are using, there should be no reason to rebuy it. Best case senario is that you can flash the firmware of this phone to your own (if the phone considers it official firmware) and the worst case senario is that you will have to go to HTC's dev website and follow the step by step procedure for unlocking your device.

HTC One X is last year's hardware. HTC One is this year's hardware. They are very different phones, and the One would be an upgrade over the One X.

Holly suggests in his article that if a "plain" version of the HTC One were to launch, it would only make the company look bad—as if it were only trying to get in the game alongside the Galaxy S 4. He also notes that a stock version of the HTC One wouldn't be able to take advantage of things like Beats Audio or ImageSense, which are two major selling points for the handset.

This is very silly logic. There is a (large?) group of users that absolutely don't want the manufacturer specific software and features, never buy a phone based on these half-assed pack-ins, and just want a clean Android install that they can easily update. Nobody is going to accidentally stumble into buying an unsubsidised phone from Google's store, this is for a very specific market that has been underserved and will create a lot of goodwill. It's win-win.

came here to post this.. I find it hard to believe that he's never heard of XDA or the Rom community.. obviously there is a market for this.. can't imagine it would take long to get Beats Audio or ImageSense on a "plain" version.. or HTC could even offer those add-ons to download at your discretion..

It doesn't even have to be an either/or thing. They can just offer a download of all the "cool" (to someone I suppose) Sense stuff. None of that shit needs to be baked into the OS.

I don't mind hardware folks making software, but for fucks sake, don't bake it into the OS. Google lets you slap an extra tab in the store that only your dumb device can see. My rooted and ROMed Galaxy Nexus has a Sprint tab. I am sure there can be an HTC tab. Do that and call it a day.

Want a Sense launcher? Fuckin' download it and run it like any other launcher. Want an HTC camera program, download it. Hell, I don't even care if it is pre-installed so long as it isn't baked into the OS and can be uninstalled.

One of the best things Android has over iOS is the fact that Android lets programs reach deep down into the inner guts of the phone in a controlled manner. There is very little that actually NEEDs root access or bits baked right into the OS. The only places where you really need to tear into the guts of the OS is when you start rearranging stuff in the settings menus. Outside of that, Android is willing to let you do as it will. Hell, this is exactly what Google does with their own stuff. You can uninstall gmail if you really want to, and it isn't baked into the OS.

Manufactures, stop baking your junk into the OS. It makes it harder for you to keep your phones up to date, and it pisses everyone off. Google isn't doing it with their own stuff, so why the hell are you?

This is a wonderful step in the right direction. Now, if only manufactures would take one more cue from Google and offer models with no front logos or physical/capacitive buttons, ala Nexus (nexi?)... I'm looking at you HTC and Samsung!

I would buy a clean, no logo/softkey HTC One in a heartbeat.

The English plural is "nexuses". The Latin plural is "nexus". Not "nexi" or "nexii".

Personally, I like a faux-English "nexen". It's a rare plural form, Hackish, and a palindrome.

In any case, some of the manufacturer branding is awful. Then the carriers add their branding. I much prefer the blank Nexus.